Traditionally, physical locks and keys were used to restrict access to buildings and other locations. In particular, a lock was typically placed on a door, which restricted access through the door unless a corresponding key was used.
Keys and locks were generally paired based upon a physical shape of the key. In particular, a barrel of the lock was configured to operate based upon the physical shape of the key. As such, a key could readily be copied by duplicating the shape of the key.
More recently, wireless access cards have gained popularity, as they enable more refined access control. For example, wireless access cards may be used to provide access to a building during business hours, but not after hours, and may also be used to log access to the building. Such refined access control is generally not possible with traditional keys alone.
However, a problem with wireless access cards is that they are difficult to copy. For example, Mifare wireless access cards are encrypted, which prevents the cards from being easily read or duplicated. As a result, instead of being able to copy access cards, cardholders are generally required to obtain additional unique cards which are programmed to provide the same access as the original card. This is generally costly, time consuming and inconvenient.
As a result, there is a need for an improved wireless access tag duplication system and method.
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